Hedy Lamarr
Artist
Clarence Sinclair Bull
(American, 1895 - 1979)
Date1938
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 12 3/8 × 9 1/2 inches (31.43 × 24.13 cm)
Sheet: 12 7/8 × 9 15/16 inches (32.7 × 25.24 cm)
Sheet: 12 7/8 × 9 15/16 inches (32.7 × 25.24 cm)
Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Object number2005.27.3902
SignedBlindstamped on image recto, lower left corner: "CLARENCE SINCLAIR BULL";
On sheet verso, top, in black stamp: "from the collection / OF CLARENCE S. BULL";
On sheet verso, top, in black stamp: "By / Clarence S. Bull, Hon. M. Photog. / CAMERACRAFTSMEN OF AMERICA".
InscribedOn sheet recto, bottom center, in blue pen: "260";
On sheet verso, top, in pencil: "Hedy Lamarr".
MarkingsOn sheet verso, center, in black ink: "(27 1/2)";
On sheet verso, center, in blue pencil: "← 4 1/2"→ / 260";
On sheet verso, lower right, black stamp: "ROY GEORGE & ASSOC. / P.O. Box 618 / Encino, California".
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionImage of a woman's face as she looks down. Light from above casts long shadows from her lashes onto her cheeks.Exhibition HistoryAmerican Photography: Recent Additions to the Hallmark Photographic Collection. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, February 27 – May 14, 2000, no cat.
In the Public Eye: Photography and Fame. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 8 - June 15, 2008, no cat.
Movie studio photographer Clarence Sinclair Bull made this mesmerizing portrait of actress Hedy Lamarr soon after she arrived in Hollywood. An icon of Hollywood glamour, Lamarr was usually cast in seductive, glamorous roles; here Bull uses an unusually tight composition and dramatic lighting to emphasize her sensuality. More recently, Lamarr’s brilliance as an inventor has been celebrated—in the 1940s, she conducted electronics research that led to today’s Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth technologies.
Copyright© Clarence Sinclair Bull / Kobal Collection
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